War & Fidelity
by TheExperimenter10
Summary: It had been years since Elena and Lucia had seen each other, but when they are reunited, one girl is running from those who wish to kill her while the other is questioning her marriage as they embark with Esca and Marcus to find the Eagle. Follows the journey of two life long friends, Elena and Lucia, who both deal with life changing situations. Co-written by WandertoGondor. R
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the story! :D**

**This was co-written by my wonderful friend, WandertoGondor! It is a collaboration of our two OFC's Elena (from The Eagle: A Different Side of the Story) and Lucia, a character from WandertoGondor's Eagle/Gladiator crossover that she sadly took down. But never the less, if you have any questions about our characters, PM myself or WandertoGondor, we'd be glad to answer! :D**

**Now, On with the story! :D**

* * *

The evening breeze was light and warm against Elena's skin, as she sat outside the villa, paint brush in hand, with the garden set out before her. She tilted her head slightly as she dabbed more paint onto the canvas, taking in a long deep breath of the sweet smelling air. It was a warm, sweet, summer air. The kind of air that made one able to be calm and relaxed and not have to worry about the troubles of the world. That was how the air made Elena feel at that moment.

As she breathed in once more, she found the scent reminded her of the summers she spent many years ago with her greatest friend and partner in crime, Lucia. A grin came across Elena's face as she remembered Lucia, and all her playful and slightly dangerous ways. She was always fond of the girl, despite their differences. Elena found that she could not have asked for a greater friend at such a young age.

Though it had been years since Elena had set eyes on her friend, she always remembered the girl and days they fondly spent together. There were hardly any bad memories of Lucia, except those when Marcus would taunt and tease her for being friends with a foreign girl from Spain. Even then, Elena ignored her brother and went on with her carefree life with Lucia. But now, that life seemed only to consist of her memories with the Spanish girl.

_"He's pretty." Lucia giggled, as a young man walked by the pair of girls, who sat in the grass under the shade of a tall tree at the far edges of the densely packed marketplace. Elena's eyes followed the man, and she could not deny that he was attractive, but the young girl, only of fourteen years, knew she would never be able to have him. _

_"Sure, but...maybe he's not my kind of man." she stated, fingers digging into the ground out of anger at her Uncle for marrying her off._

_She had not wanted the marriage to Crateros Marcellus. It was all her Uncle's idea to join their family with his. Crateros was a powerful man, with a powerful name and family, and the second he had informed Elena's Uncle that he had an interest in her, it was only a matter of minutes before she was called over to her Uncle and was told of the arrangement._

_ Elena did not speak, she did not throw a fit, instead she simply nodded and accepted her fate. Although Crateros was a soldier, and powerful man, he was not unkind, and Elena liked that about him. And he was also not entirely ugly. He was tall with lightly tanned skin and dark hair. And his brown eyes were always full of meaning and objective. However, the only thing that made Elena cringe inwardly was the burn that covered a part of his neck._

_"What do you mean, he's not exactly your kind of man." Lucia replied, glancing over at the small brunette beside her. "You don't have to marry him. Men like him are just nice to look at."_

_Elena glanced at Lucia and shrugged. She had not told her of the marriage yet, but knew she would have to eventually. "He's all right." she murmured softly, looking down at her now dust covered hands. _

_"Lucia, I have to-"_

_Lucia twisted her entire body to look at her friend more clearly, lines of worry creasing against her forehead. "Elena, what? What's wrong? Did someone hurt you?"_

_"My Uncle," She stammered unsurely, her bright green eyes thrown back down to ground. "...I...I mean...I've been forced into an arranged marriage with Crateros Marcellus."_

_The black haired girl's face recoiled in surprise. "Crateros Marcellus? Isn't he the soldier with the burn mark on his neck? He's too old for you! Whyever would your Uncle promise you to him!?"_

_"To join our families. He's a powerful man, with many powerful friends including, I'm sure, the Emperor himself." Elena replied, looking back at Lucia, eyes filled with tears, but she wiped them away before they could fall._

_The ten year old hated crying in front of Lucia. Lucia was brave and courageous, and crying in front of her made Elena feel weak compared to her, so she hid her tears and hardly ever cried._

"My Lady!" a voice called, causing Elena to be snapped out of her reverie. She turned her head in the direction that the voice was coming from, and saw a figure running towards her. She had to squint slightly against the evening sun which was shining far too brightly in her eyes. When the servant stopped in front of her he gave a low bow, and Elena nodded to him giving him permission to speak.

"My lady," he gasped, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "It's your brother, Marcus. He's coming up this way."

The news was shocking to her ears, and caused the seventeen year old to stand up suddenly, before she bolted past the servant, dropping her painting supplies as she went.

Marcus. She had not heard from Marcus in the longest time. There was hardly ever any news regarding him and so to hear that he was here, at her Uncle's villa nonetheless, was very surprising. She was happy of course, to know that he was alive, but she knew that based on where he was posted, there was no guarantee he'd be out in one piece.  
As she sped down the dirt path, leading towards the front of the villa, she ran right past her uncle and down towards the cart that her brother was being pulled in. There was another figure by the cart, one that Elena did not recognize until she was in close proximity. "Lucia?" she asked hesitantly, eyes widening as she realized who it was accompanying her brother.

Elena stared at the black haired girl in complete surprise, and almost couldn't walk properly as she ran towards the girl and wrapped her arms around her. "I cannot believe that you are here. It is the will of the gods." she said, holding her friend so tightly she worried she might hurt her.

"Go to your brother," Lucia spoke in a low, ragged voice, stepping out of Elena's embrace. "he needs you more than I do."

Elena nodded thankfully and hurried after the servants who bustled about the villa. When she walked into the room with years of unshed tears threatening to cascade out of her eyes, she saw her once robust brother, now pale and near to death, laying on the cot in fresh clothes. His armor was gathered in a stinking pile in one corner of the room, waiting to be washed. A man servant sat beside the bed, painstakingly cleaning out the large gash in Marcus' leg.

He was wounded, and badly, so the servants told her, and that was enough for her to worry about him, more than anything else for the time being. She glanced at her Uncle and Lucia who had come in silently and stood in the corner of the room, seemingly giving her space and time to watch over her older brother. And Elena was grateful, but with them in the room, it made it even more difficult for her to cry freely.

Even after all these years she was still afraid of crying in front of Lucia, not to mention front of her Uncle too. The young girl had become accustomed to holding back her tears having had many years of practice, and found it easier to hold it back than it was years previously. However, at this very moment, with the worries and fears she held, it was far more difficult, not to cry than it was at any other point in time in her life.

When the servants had finished tending to her unconscious brother, and left the room, Elena slowly moved towards the bed and sat precariously on the edge of it, gently taking her brothers' hand in her own. His hands were rough and calloused from the years of fighting and training, but she felt a small comfort in holding them in hers. It reminded her of when they were children. Whenever she was sad, or afraid, Marcus would take his sister's hand in his and tell her everything would be all right, even there was a slim chance, and that was exactly what Elena did now.

Moving her free hand over his head, she brushed some hair out of his face and stared down at him.

"Everything will be all right, brother. I promise." she whispered, a few tears escaping her eyes and falling quietly down her pale cheeks. This time, however, she did not fight them, did not wipe them away because for once in the longest time she felt no shame in crying.

Aquilla studied the black-haired girl with avid eyes from where he stood towards one side of the bed. She wasn't Roman, any fool could see that, but at the same time, she carried herself like any Roman citizen would. Her face was flushed of any color and her chocolate brown eyes were dull, almost lifeless  
He couldn't discern what horrible things she had seen during her lifetime, but Aquilla knew that she had seen it...whatever it was. With a flick of his hand, he motioned the girl to follow him out into the hallway, leaving Elena to have a few moments alone with her older brother.

"My lord," Lucia managed to bow formally despite the weakness and exhaustion which cobbled through her body once the door to the room had been gently shut. "I am Lucia,"

"Just Lucia?" The aged man questioned with a quizzical smile.

"Just Lucia, my lord," she confirmed quietly; she shifted where she stood, clearly feeling out of place since she was still caked with dirt and mud from her travels.

"Don't you have a title? I don't know much about you but you resemble a girl I once met in Rome. The daughter of a Senator, I believe."

Lucia breathed in sharply, obviously distraught by the sudden memory of her father and unsure if Aquilla would accept her under his roof if she were to tell him of her true identity.

"Yes, I am the daughter of Senator Gracchus. But please do not forget, if you know the Senator, that my father was...is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions."

A spark erupted in the man's face then disappeared as fast as it came. "You would do well, young child," he began softly. "to refrain from drawing attention to yourself by mentioning that you are a kin to the man who defied Rome."

"He did for all the right reasons," Lucia justified, squaring her shoulders, her chin raised, unashamed.

Aquilla raised a single finger up to his lips, indicating for the young Spanish girl to keep her voice to the bare minimum.

"We are all friends here, child. I, too, support the freedom of Rome in all of her might. But there are many who resist. If Gracchus taught you right, you would know to not make daring statements at all...even to allies."

Lucia nodded with understanding before peeking through the crack in the door to see how Elena was. The young girl was still sitting loyally by her brother, staring anxiously at his chiseled face. He's built like Adonis, she thought. He will be healthy yet.

"How did he receive his wound?" Aquilla asked, following Lucia's eyes.

She looked up, answering with a slightly aggressive undertone.

"He fought bravely...to free the squadron that he was responsible for who were held captive and almost executed by the Seal people. I have never seen such might in all of Rome."

Just then the door to the room opened and Elena entered the hallway, her eyes were red from crying but her stance was filled with pride. She let out a deep breath, looking between her Uncle and Lucia.

"They are cleaning his wounds. He will fight. He will fight and he will come back to us." Elena then glanced once more at her Uncle, and back to Lucia. "Walk with me?" she asked, offering her a hand. "If you would excuse us Uncle." she added afterwards, inclining her head towards him just as they disappeared down another hall.


	2. Author's Note (Don't worry it's not bad)

**Hello! Sadly this is not a new chapter! Both WandertoGondor and I have decided to move the story over to her account, so if you are as in love with the story as we are, you will have to go to her account now. It will be continuing on from there! :) I hope this has not inconvenienced you in any way! We both want you to still enjoy it and continue reading it! :)**

**Thank you! And again, I apologize for the inconvenience!**

**-TheExperimenter10**


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